Carbon Stock Potential of Shilabo Shrubs Land among Soil Texture Somali Region, Eastern Ethiopia

Abstract

Zemenu Tadesse Ayele*, Zawde Tadesse Teshome and Latamo Lameso Lelamo

Forests, shrubs and grasslands play an imperative role in climate change mitigation and balancing nature by sequestering and retaining carbon above and below the ground in biomass. The study was conducted to determine the total carbon stock potential of shrub lands in Shilabo district, Somalia, Ethiopia, as well as the implications for climate change mitigation. The study was restricted to the carbon stock potential of the shrub land depending on soil texture for three major carbon pools: Above Ground Biomass (AGB), Below Ground Biomass (BGB) and Soil Organic Carbon (SOC). Using generic allometric equations that are readily available, the biomass of each species of tree and shrub was determined. To gather the necessary and pertinent data for the study region at every 390 m between each sample plot and 700 m between each transect line, sample plots of 20 by 20 m were established using systematic random sampling techniques. Using Breast Height (BH) tape, standing trees with branches and twigs measuring 5 cm or less in Diameter at Breast Height (DBH) were measured on 400 m² of sample plots. The height of the trees was also assessed using a hypsometer. Each of the five 1 x 1 m shrub land subplots, one in the middle and four at the corners of the main plot, had litter samples carefully taken from it. Litter samples from each of the five subplots of the main plot were combined to create a composite sample that weighed about 100 grams. Each of the five 1 by 1 m subplot regions, one at each of the four corners and the main plot's center, had samples of soil organic carbon and bulk density taken at a depth of 30 cm using an auger. The Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) software version 26 was used to estimate and assess the carbon stock of various carbon pools. The findings demonstrated that the below ground and above-ground biomass total mean carbon stocks at the sandy loam and sandy textured soil sites were approximately 507.36 t ha and 297.24 t ha, respectively. An independent sample t-test revealed that the mean difference in carbon pool and carbon dioxide sequestration between sandy loam texture soil (site 1) and sandy texture soil (site 2) was statistically significant. Shrub lands have provided great environmental benefits and services, as well as mitigating climate change impacts. Therefore, any environmental protection agencies, both government and non-government, have to look for and protect this resource.